New Addition to UH Public Art Collection Welcoming Students

Nathan Carter's "Houston Radio Radar Reflectors" is the latest addition to UH's acclaimed Public Art Collection. The installation complements the new Cougar Place residence hall.

Students
arriving to the University of Houston will note a drastically changed campus.
In addition to the new garages and residence halls, both first-time and
returning Coogs will observe the latest sculpture in the university’s acclaimed
Public Art Collection.

“Houston
Radio Radar Reflectors” is a colorful screening wall connected to the new
Cougar Place residence hall (located at Wheeler Avenue and Cullen Boulevard).
The recently installed piece is the handiwork of artist Nathan Carter.

The
piece includes six swirling aluminum sculptures located outside of the
residence hall's northern window and next to its outdoor patio. Each piece
includes multicolored tiles in various shapes (triangles, circles, ovals,
half-circles) and sizes. It is the first public artwork created by Carter.

In
creating each component of the sculpture, Carter said that he took into
consideration its resiliency – how it would withstand outdoor conditions such
as wind and rain. At the same time, he envisioned a work that would be
welcoming to Cougar Place residents and the UH community.

“My
idea is that the sculptures would be interactive,” Carter said. “Students can
use them to hang their backpacks or rest their cups of coffee. I also wanted to
create something that was inviting for students. So, I selected colors that
were playful and a feast for the eyes.”

Carter’s
interests in old-fashioned, handmade electronic devices inspired the title
“Houston Radio Radar Reflectors”. The title and design complements some of
Carter’s recent works that utilize shapes that can perhaps be used to pick up
radio signals.

While
this is Carter’s first outdoor public installation, he has shown works in
galleries across the country and internationally. His recent exhibitions
include “Slayer Metallica” at Esther Schipper gallery in Berlin, “Pocket Shrapnel Set-Ups Veronica Vex and
Brooklyn Street Treasures” at Casey Kaplan gallery in New York. , and “The
Flying Brixton Bangarang and Radio Vibration Vex-Venture” in Museo de Arte Raul
Anguiana in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“I am
over the moon at seeing this project at the university,” he said. “It’s taken
me a while to create a public work like this. I am really excited to share this
with students and the rest of the University community.”

“Houston
Radio Radar Reflectors” joins more than 400 works that comprise the UH System
Public Art Collection. The University was one of the first state institutions
to allot one percent of its facilities’ construction budgets toward public art
works. The System Wide Art Acquisition Committee assists in selecting works for
UH System universities. Michael Guidry is the collection’s curator.